I just saw this video from Jay Smooth of Ill Doctrine. He discusses the fact that Ashley Dupree (i.e. She ‘worked’ with Elliot Spitzer) might get a record deal. Put it this way, I think the music industry is so desperate to make a dollar they will do anything including exploiting a scandal. I love Jay Smooth’s take on it and how it relates to Hip hop and the music industry. How do you feel about it?

Again I want to thank The Couch Sessions for this video. Jay-Z should get a huge bump from this one.

What is your opinion of this video? What would Hilary like? You know that could be a good premise for a blog. How about Stuff that Democrats Like… or Stuff that Republicans Like (note: I have already trademarked them both).

Barackula is a short political horror rock musical about young Barack Obama having to stave off a secret society of vampires at Harvard when he was inducted into presidency at the Harvard Law Review in 1990. Obama (Justin Sherman) finds that he must convince the vampire society that opposing political philosophies can coexist or else the society may transform Obama to the dark side. Reminiscent to Michael Jackson’s Thriller and a slight infusion of Jesus Christ Superstar, the film solely depicts Obama’s strengths, merits and genuineness while being respectful towards the other presidential candidates.

Today is the Wisconsin Primaries, and I have to say I have not seen so much excitement over politics since the 1992 Elections. It is easy to get caught up in the election fever, but we should also be educated voters. By that I mean that we should not vote on sound bytes from CNN, or Fox, but with complete facts. So I decided to share some resources that might help you vote today and this coming November.

I just found about this site called Vote Smart. It is the ultimate resource for a voter. The site has everything you want to know about a specific candidate from where they stand on issues to how they voted on a bill to campaign finances to even public statements and speeches. This non-partisan site is a tool I think every voter should use at the national and local levels of politics and government. The site calls itself the’Voter’s Self Defense System’ and I have to agree.

Here are some other resources from previous posts definitely worth checking out.

– Site of the Day: Unity ’08: A new type of concept where people pick the candidates to run for president and vice president. It is a site to create a presidential ticket by using technology and not lobbies and money. The ticket will comprise of candidates from both parties or even an independent.

I don’t know how to begin. A musical based on Obama? Ok not far fetch look at Obama Girl. Then add a secret evil society, and vampires. Someone must have been smoking the stuff that Bill Clinton didn’t inhale. When I first heard about Barackula, I thought it was some corny joke. I was wrong. It is a real musicial inspired by Barack Obama ideals.

SynopsisBarackula is a short political horror rock musical about young Barack Obama having to stave off a secret society of vampires at Harvard when he was inducted into presidency at the Harvard Law Review in 1990. Obama (Justin Sherman) finds that he must convince the vampire society that opposing political philosophies can coexist or else the society may transform Obama to the dark side. Reminiscent to Michael Jackson’s Thriller and a slight infusion of Jesus Christ Superstar, the film solely depicts Obama’s strengths, merits and genuineness while being quietly respectful towards the other presidential candidates. This short musical is highly entertaining with dancing Harvard student vampires, fantastic choreography by Victor Tang and Sherman’s physical likeness to Obama is remarkable. Shot on the new RED ONE camera, the quality of the film itself is stunning. Produced by Justin Sherman, Gavin Leighton, Brooke Shirey and Mike Lawson, Barackula – The Musical is exceedingly unique amidst today’s vast online media created by the voting public. The intent of the film makers is to create something fun and memorable during this year’s election. Release date is expected by February 2008.

This question was asked by an article in New York Times if the Mac was Obama and the PC was Clinton. The article was actually comparing the two candidates’ websites and whether it fit the cool design of Mac or the cold design of the PC (obviously I am a MAC fan).

This is especially true for the two remaining Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Reporters covering the candidates have already resorted to traditional analysis of style — fashion choices, manner of speaking, even the way they laugh. Yet, according to design experts, the candidates have left a clear blueprint of their personal style — perhaps even a window into their souls — through the Web sites they have created to raise money, recruit volunteers and generally meet-and-greet online.

So they asked design experts and they basically said that Obama was a Mac and Hilary was PC.

That is, Mr. Obama’s site is more harmonious, with plenty of white space and a soft blue palette. Its task bar is reminiscent of the one used at Apple’s iTunes site. It signals in myriad ways that it was designed with a younger, more tech-savvy audience in mind — using branding techniques similar to the ones that have made the iPod so popular….

In contrast to barackobama.com, Mrs. Clinton’s site uses a more traditional color scheme of dark blue, has sharper lines dividing content and employs cookie-cutter icons next to its buttons for volunteering, and the like.

“Hillary’s is way more hectic, it’s got all these, what look like parody ads,” said Ms. Twemlow, who is not a citizen and cannot vote in the election.

Being a designer, I can really appreciate this article and this analysis, but it will not determine how I vote. What do you think? Who is a Mac? Who is a PC? Is McCain a PC? Is Romney a Mac?

Whatever you think of the candidates, you have to admit this country has election idol fever. Even designer and artist Shepard Fairey has gotten act and backed Obama. Shepard best know for his Obey Giant guerrilla campaign. He went one step further by creating this poster and proceeds from this print go to produce prints for a large statewide poster campaign. Unfortunately the poster is sold out. However you can download this pdf of the black&white version to print on your own printer if you so desire.

From Shepard’s site

UPDATE: Thanks for all those who bought the print in support of OBEY and OBAMA. Unfortunately, the print is sold out and we do not plan on producing another edition. The edition was released earlier today with great response. The PROGRESS screenprint was exclusively available through OBEY and the HOPE offset print will be distributed by the OBAMA Camp as an awareness campaign.

I believe with great conviction that Barack Obama should be the next President. I have been paying close attention to him since the Democratic convention in 2004. I feel that he is more a statesman than a politician. He was against the war when it was an unpopular position (and Hillary was for the war at that time), Obama is for energy and environmental conservation. He is for healthcare reform. Check him out for yourself www.barackobama.com.

Check out this other political related poster he created and I think is still available

I find Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving pretty surreal with all the advertising. It is a definite attack on my senses. It almost has become a holiday on its own. In my opinion, I think it has corrupted what Thanksgiving and the rest of the holidays truly mean. Don’t get me wrong, I love buying some new fangle device, or some music. However, this can get a little extreme. Take a look at this video from last year and previous years where people get trampled in a store to grab some toys that are on sale.Adbusters put together a campaign called Buy Nothing Day which happens today. The Premise is simple; don’t buy anything today. They have Public Service Announcement for their campaign which MTV won’t air because it is a little to extreme for their airwaves.

MTV, the channel that markets itself to hip youth, has decreed that our Buy Nothing Day public service spot “goes further than we are willing to accept on our channels”. Gangsta rap and sexualized, semi-naked school girls are okay, but apparently not a burping pig talking about consumption. If you object to this sort of corporate censorship, why not send them a message now?

GQ released their list for the 2007’s Men of the Year. It includes only one presidential candidate. Ron Paul. Check this video of the GQ Man of the Year from 1988’s Morton Downey Jr. Show (remember that show?). Listen to his position on the legalization of drugs.